Explain
the
Service
Management
Facility
and
the
phases
of the
boot
process.

Use
Service
Management
Facility
or legacy
commands
and
scripts
to control
both
the
boot
and
shutdown
procedures.

You
need to understand the primary
functions of the OpenBoot environment,
which includes the programmable
read-only memory (PROM). You need
to have a complete understanding
of how to use many of the OpenBoot
commands and how to set and modify
all the configuration parameters
that control system bootup and
hardware behavior.

You
must understand the entire boot
process, from the proper power-on
sequence to the steps you perform
to bring the system into multiuser
mode.

You
must be able to identify the devices
connected to a system and recognize
the various special files for
each device.

Occasionally,
conventional shutdown methods
might not work on an unresponsive
system or on a system that has
crashed. This chapter introduces
when and how to use these alternative
shutdown methods to bring the
system down safely.

You
must understand how the Service
Management Facility (SMF) controls
which processes and services are
started at various stages of the
boot process. You need to understand
how to use SMF or legacy commands
and scripts to control both the
boot and shutdown procedures.

Outline

Introduction

Booting
a System

Powering
On the System

The
Boot PROM and Program Phases

The
OpenBoot Environment

Entry-Level
to High-End Systems

Accessing
the OpenBoot Environment

System
Control Switch

OpenBoot
Firmware Tasks

The
OpenBoot Architecture

The
OpenBoot Interface

Getting
Help in OpenBoot

PROM
Device Tree (Full Device Pathnames)

OpenBoot
Device Aliases

OpenBoot
NVRAM

The
nvedit Line Editor

OpenBoot
Security

OpenBoot
Diagnostics

Input
and Output Control

OpenBoot
PROM Versions

Booting
a System

The boot Command

The
Kernel

The
init Phase

The
Solaris Management Facility
(SMF) Service

Service
Dependencies

SMF
Command-line Administration
Utilities

Starting
and Stopping Services
Using SMF

Starting
Services During Boot

SMF
Message Logging

Creating
New Service Scripts

Legacy
Services

Using
the Run Control Scripts to
Stop or Start Services

Adding
Scripts to the Run Control
Directories

System
Shutdown

Commands
to Shut Down the System

The /usr/sbin/shutdown Command

The /sbin/init Command

The /usr/sbin/halt Command

The /usr/sbin/reboot Command

The /usr/sbin/poweroff Command

Stopping
the System for Recovery Purposes

Turning
Off the Power to the Hardware

Summary

Study
Strategies

The
following
study
strategies
will
help
you
prepare
for
the
exam:

When
studying this chapter, you should
practice on a Sun system each
step-by-step process that is outlined.
In addition to practicing the
processes, you should practice
the various options described
for booting the system.

You
should display the hardware configuration
of your Sun system by using the
various OpenBoot commands presented
in this chapter. You need to familiarize
yourself with all the devices
associated with your system. You
should be able to identify each
hardware component by its device
pathname.

You
should practice creating both
temporary and permanent device
aliases. In addition, you should
practice setting the various OpenBoot
system parameters that are described
in this chapter.

You
should practice booting the system
by using the various methods described.
You need to understand how to
boot into single-user and multiuser
modes and how to specify an alternate
kernel or system file during the
boot process.

During
the boot process, you should watch
the system messages and familiarize
yourself with every stage of the
boot process. You should watch
the system messages that are displayed
at bootup. You need to understand
each message displayed during
the boot process from system power-on
to bringing the system into multiuser
mode.

You
need to thoroughly understand
the Service Management Facility
(SMF), service states, and milestones.
You'll
need to understand how the scv.startd daemon
uses information from the service
configuration repository to determine
required milestones and how it
processes the manifests located
in the /var/svc/manifest directory.
In addition you must understand
legacy run control scripts, run
levels, and how they affect the
system services.

You
should practice shutting down
the system. You should make sure
you understand the advantages
and disadvantages of each method
presented.

Introduction

System startup requires an understanding of the hardware and the operating
system functions that are required to bring the system to a running state. This
chapter discusses the operations that the system must perform from the time you
power on the system until you receive a system logon prompt. In addition, it
covers the steps required to properly shut down a system. After reading this
chapter, you’ll understand how to boot the system from the OpenBoot
programmable read-only memory (PROM) and what operations must take place to
start up the kernel and Unix system processes.